#BookReview; The Second Chance Holiday Club by Kate Galley. #TheSecondChanceHolidayClub @HoZ_Books

I am delighted to be sharing my review of; The Second Chance Holiday Club by Kate Galley. A big thank you to Ana at Head of Zeus for my ARC copy via Netgalley.

The Second Chance Holiday Club by Kate Galley

It’s never too late to change the habits of a lifetime…

Evelyn Pringle isn’t the sort to make rash decisions. Or any decisions, really – she’s always left that sort of thing up to her husband. But he’s been found dead, wearing his best suit, with a diamond ring in his pocket that doesn’t fit her. When Evelyn finds a letter addressed to a woman on the Isle of Wight, she decides to deliver it. By hand.

So begins a very unusual holiday, and an adventure no one could have predicted – least of all Evelyn herself. With the help of some unexpected new friends and a little effort on her part, Evelyn discovers that it is never too late to have a second chance at life and forge friendships that are well-worth living for.

The Second Chance Holiday Club is a heartwarming and funny later-life uplit for fans of Judy Leigh, Hazel Prior and Maddie Please.

Review

Tender, touching and refreshingly real, a definite must-read!

I am completely surprised to find out that this is the author’s debut book, the quality of the writing and the beautifully poignant story say that there will be many many books to come from this talented author and after reading and loving this I can’t wait to read any which will follow.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first came into this book, I liked the sound of it and the cover is pretty, but nothing jumped out at me to say that this was going to be as wonderful as it was. It’s pretty unassuming like a beautiful songbird sitting in a corner, you don’t know how beautifully they can sing until they put themselves into the spotlight and this is just the same. You don’t realise how much you will enjoy it until you start reading.

I have to say that despite Evelyn being a good 40+ years older than myself, I saw a little of myself in her, I can’t explain why or in what way but something in the way she thinks, her manner even her way of expressing herself and her borderline rude/insulting comments made me grimace thinking ‘Oh, my god this is me! ‘ Eeek!
But put that aside and you have a woman who finds a unique way of dealing with loss and devasting unearthed secrets.

I really liked this book, written in first person the whole journey is laid out through Evelyn’s eyes, and we get a deep understanding of her as a person and not just as a character all from her intimate thoughts throughout and I really liked that. I am very fussy when it comes to the first-person narrative some just don’t sit well with me and some I can’t get into at all yet this one hit all the right marks, it covers all the bases; emotion, humour, and insight into the story and friendship.

I loved the friendship aspect of the story, it’s actually rather refreshing to read a book that isn’t solely about romance, this has a lot of serious issues written within what is essentially a humous and poignant story of life after death, secret, discovery and friendship. I am pleasantly surprised at how uplifting this book is, despite the main plot of a woman grieving over the death of her husband and finding a world-shattering secret this is pretty light-hearted and very moving.

Advertisement